Top Albums of the Month November 2018

What a month! Here is the list of releases that grabbed our attention in November. Qwest TV's favourites in the loop.

Makaya McCraven, Universal Beings (International Anthem)

2018 is Makaya’s year. Following the release of the mixtape Where We Come From, Makaya McCraven gave us Universal Beings, a 21-track album-epic with several sought-after guests: Brandee Younger, Shabaka Hutchings, Jeff Parker, and Nubya Garcia.

Richard Spaven, Real Time

For years, the soulful London-based drummer, Richard Spaven, has played alongside greats like José James, Guru, Flying Lotus, Gregory Porter, and Bill Laurance. Now he’s releasing Real Time, his second album as a leader.

Rosalia, El Mal Querer (Sony)

Radars had been buzzing since the discovery of Los Ángeles (2017), a debut album produced by Raül Refree, which featured flamenco and R&B imagery from the CANADA collective’s videos. Then, the single “Malamente” and a first electric concert at Sonár in Barcelona, her home city, propelled the hype before the summer.

Ambrose Akinmusire, Origami Harvest (Blue Note)

With his new album, Origami Harvest, Ambrose Akinmusire once again demonstrates the sheer creative freedom that runs through his compositions. Here is the Blue Note-signed American trumpeter discussing Origami Harvest in his own words.

Maisha, There is a Place (Brownswood)

Of all the bands that have been recently lauded under the banner of bright young things in British jazz, Maisha is arguably the most interesting. That they have been finding their way at a relatively safe distance far from the hype machine is a good thing, and there is a pleasing sense of focus on this debut.

The new 3-CD/3-LP release, Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions, which primarily focuses on two July 1963 recordings for Douglas Records titled Iron Man and Conversations, is a comprehensive deep-dive into the first commercial documentation of Dolphy’s evolving sonic vision. Both formats contain 85 minutes of previously unissued material transferred from the original reel-to-reel mono session tapes that generated the LPs, and are packaged with a beautifully-produced, well-researched 96-page booklet.